Dani, Switheudi, Thuringi and Aesirs

Dani, Switheudi, Thuringi and Aesirs were in all probability four groups of related people, who originally came from Asia, few in numbers.

At Tryggevælde Å (river) near Himlingøje, Valløby and Varpelev in Eastern Sjælland a number of large burial mounds have been excavated and many objects that differ significantly from the contemporary Iron Age culture’s other findings have been found. In addition, mound funerals had not been seen in Scandinavia since the first half of the Bronze Age; they were a marked break in tradition. These mounds are dated to around 200 AD, and one may assume that the represent Dani. One can imagine that they first arrived in Scania and drove the Heruls away from there. That could have taken place around 200 – 300 AD or even later.

Noble men and women have for generations been buried in large burial mounds at the Tryggevælde River with treasures such as unique silver cups, neck rings, pearl necklaces, game pieces and Roman-made cups and glass drinking horns and much more – but no weapons. Around the mounds have been found their servants and service people in more modest graves – with few or no grave goods.

Women's tomb from Himlingøje from around 200 AD. In front of the woman are seen gold jewelry and her long necklace

Women’s tomb from Himlingøje from around 200 AD found in 1949 and exhibited in the National Museum. In front of the woman are seen her gold jewelry and a long necklace with different colored beads. – Photo: Kulturjagt i Køge Bugt.

There have been noted a striking similarity between the graves at the Tryggevælde River and graves and grave goods in Thuringen and southern Saxony from the same time. It is also suggested that the Danish -lev in village names is connected to -leben in village names in Thuringen. It’s pretty likely that Dani and Thuringi were related people.

If Switheudi and Dani were of the same descent, and Dani and Thuringi were closely related peoples so all three people have been related. It is somewhat unsatisfactory for this theory that Jordanes also mentions Sweans, which are of a different race. The author has no certain knowledge, but he believes that Switheudi and Sweans are identical.

Ynglinga Saga says: “Sveigde became king after his father. He made the promise to search for Gudehjem (Gods’ Home – English: Gotham) and Odin the Old. He traveled with 12 men widely around the world; he came to Turkland and Great Svitjod and found there many kinsmen. On this journey he was away for five years, then he came back and stayed home for a while. He was out in Vanaheim and got a wife, who was named Vana; their son was named Vanlande.”

Findings from Haagerup on the island of Fyn (1) compared with findings from Leuna in Thuringen (2). In the gold finger ring from Haagerup sits an onyx stone, and in the ring from Leuna sits a carnelian, but both are adorned with a Mercury motif. The Funen on is of Roman origin, while the South Germany one is producing outside the Roman Empire. Other examples of similarities include silver spoons, glasses and silver bowls. – From Gyldendals og Politikkens Danmarks Historie 2 by Lotte Hedager.

In Old Uppsala in Sweden, there are three large burial mounds and several smaller mounds from the Late Iron Age of similar size, as the mounds at the Tryggevælde river originally must have been. Two of the large mounds contained very rich cremations graves with royal power symbols from the 500s AD.

The Eastern mound contained a 12-year-old boy and a woman; the boy’s equipment included a warrior helmet, a gold decorated single-edged sword and a bronze mirror. In the West mound, there were a man and a woman; the man’s equipment included among other things a warrior helmet decorated with carved stones, a double-edged sword with gold hilt and probably a scepter. Following Snorri Sturlason the Ynglinge lineage was the royal family of the Svears, and Old Uppsala was their burial ground.

But as the Swedish mounds are from around the year 500 AD and the Danish are from around the year 200 AD it sounds unlikely that the Dani descended from Swedes, as it is said. One has to expect that ancestors lived before descendants.

Reconstruction of grave at Valløby south of Koege

Reconstruction of a grave at Valløby south of Køge. The deceased is a man, who is laid to rest with a rich equipment of silver goblets, glass and bronze vessels. The excavation in the 1800’s showed that the grave had been covered by a stone surrounded mound, as shown on the drawing over the existing mound with a dashed line. Drawing by Magnus Petersen 1873.

Snorri says in the introduction to Ynglinge Saga that “in the land east of the Tanakvisl (River Don) lay a castle, called Asgård. The chief of the castle was called Odin, and it was a great offer place for the Gods. Odin was a great army man, who travelled far around and won himself many kingdoms.” – “But because Odin was visionary and skilled in magic, he knew that his descendants should live and build in the Northern part of the world. Therefore he set his brothers Ve and Vilje in charge Asgård, but himself departed with all his dianes (?) with him and many other people. First, he headed west to Gardarige (Russia) and then south to Saxland; He had many sons, he won himself a kingdom over much of Saxland and set his sons to rule the country. So he headed against north to the sea and settled on an island, it is now called Odinsoye on Fyn,” which must be Odense, which city also has Odin’s name.

The mounds in Gamla Uppsala – Photo Wikipedia.

There is no direct intelligence to that the Asia men, who settled on the island of Fyn, were related to Switheudi, Dani and Thuringi. But Snorri lets Odin continue to Sweden, where he became the Ynglinge lineage’s actual ancestor, and that is suggesting that there was a relation.

Game pieces of bone found in a man's grave in Varpelev from the end of the 200's

Game pieces of bone found in a man’s grave in Varpelev near Køge from the end of the 200’s – Photo: Kulturjagt i Køge Bugt.

It’s all quite speculative, but one can think that Thuringi means descendants after Thor, Thornings, so to say, in the same way as the Ynglings were descendants after Yngve. Snorre lists Odin’s ancestors in his preface to the Edda: “His famous ancestor was Thror, whom we call Thor, his son was Loridi, his son was Ejnridi, his son Vingethor, his son Vingener, his son Moda, his son Magni, his son Seskef, his son Bedvig, his son Atra, his son Itrmann, his son Heremod, his son Skjaldun called Skjold (shield), his son Bjaf, his son Jat, his son Gudolf, his son Finn, his son Frallaf and he had the son Vodin who was Odin.” Which must mean that Odin and his men, who settled on the island of Fyn, also regarded themselves as descendants of Thor, which one can think that Thuringi and probably Dani and Switheudi also did.

Dolichocephalic woman skull from Varpelev Stevns. From “Danmarks Oldtid” by Johannes Brøndsted.

Many skeletons in graves in Denmark from precisely about 200-300 AD show that the deceased were quite tall and long skulled. Thus, one of the deceased in Himlingøje had been close to 180 cm tall. The historian Palle Lauring wrote about Dani’s ethnic characteristics: “The striking many dolichocephalic skulls in the graves have been associated with the coming of the Danes, and it is worth to emphasize that the particularly long-headed appearance pretty quickly disappear from the graves again and is replaced by roughly the same situation as before. It is distinctive upper-class tombs, and we must not forget that precisely with the Danes’ conquest of the land it is about their upper class, that is a very narrow group of bloodlines, perhaps only a few families, who probably have been so inter-married that a common appearance can be understood.”

Two silver cups from Valløby at Tryggevælde Å on Stevns. This is not Roman style, the cup’s design must represent a culture that Dani had with them when they came – from Asia. Photo: verasir.dk.

Snorri’s preface to the Edda tells us why this characteristics appearance rather quickly disappeared again: “The Aesirs took wives there in the country; some married their sons with local women. All these blood-lines were so numerous that they spread all around in Sax-land and all the northern countries, so that their, the Asian men’s, tongue became the real language of these countries. Thereof, as their ancestors’ names are recorded, it is thought that it can be believed that these names have followed with this tongue and that the Aesirs have brought them with them to the northern countries, to Norway and Sweden, to Denmark and Sax-land.” – Snorre exaggerates undoubtedly the Aesirs’ linguistic influence, as Scandinavian and German still today are Germanic language, resembling Gothic, but it is most likely true that the Aesir’s have made an important contribution to the Nordic countries’ language.

Thuringia quickly was conquered by the Franks. Gregory of Tours tells how: “So he (King Theodoric) summoned the Franks, and said to them: “Be angry, I beg of you, both because of my wrong and because of the death of your kinsmen, and recollect that the Thuringi once made a violent attack upon our kinsmen and inflicted much harm on them. And they gave hostages and were willing to conclude peace with them, but the Thuringi slew the hostages with various tortures, and made an attack upon our kinsmen, took away all their property, and hung youths by the sinews of their thighs to trees, and cruelly killed more than two hundred maidens, tying them by their arms to the necks of horses, which were then headed in opposite directions, and being started by a very sharp goad tore the maidens to pieces.”

The Uppaakra cup from Uppaakra south of Lund in Scania. The cup is 165 mm. high. It is decorated with six relief band of gold in Nordic animal ornamentation style I. It is believed that the decoration on the cup is a further development of the decorations on the cups found at Tryggevælde on Sjælland. Photo: Bengt Almgren, Lund.

“And others were stretched out upon the city streets and stakes were planted in the ground, and they caused loaded wagons to pass over them, and having broken their bones they gave them to dogs and birds for food. And now Hermenfred has deceived me in what he promised and refuses to perform it at all. Behold, we have a plain word. Let us go with God’s aid against them.” They heard this and were angry at such a wrong, and with heart and mind they attacked Thuringia.”

But Thuringi did not follow the contemporary rules of fair warfare: “And the Thuringi prepared stratagems against the coming of the Franks. For they dug pits in the plain where the fight was to take place and covering the openings with thick turf they made it seem a level plain. So when they began to fight, many of the Frankish horsemen fell into these pits and it was a great obstacle to them.”

But the Franks won as always: “When finally the Thuringi saw that they were being fiercely cut to pieces and when their king Hermenfred had taken to flight, they turned their backs and came to the stream Unstrut. And there such a slaughter of the Thuringi took place that the bed of the stream was filled with heaps of corpses, and the Franks crossed upon them as if on a bridge to the further shore. After the victory was won they took possession of that country and brought it under their control.”

Grave gifts found in a
woman's grave at Kirkebakken in the village Aarslev on Fyn

Selection of grave goods found in a woman’s grave woman’s grave at Kirkebakken in the village Aarslev on Fyn about 1820. In addition to several bronze dishes, bronze buckets and silver spoons the dead woman got several unique pieces of jewelry to the grave, including seven pendants with lion masks pressed in gold, semiprecious stones and clothes pins of silver. It’s interesting that they knew this animal, lion. From Gyldendal og Politikkens Danmarkshistorie 2.

In Ynglinge Saga we get some information about Switheudi’s or Swear’s culture: “Odin made it law in his countries, which previously had been law among the Aesirs. Thus he ordered that they should burn all the dead and carry their belongings into the fire with them, he said that so much fortune should each one come to Valhal with, which he had got with him on the pyre, and what he himself had dug into the ground, should also be beneficial for him. The ash they should carry out into the sea or dig into the ground. In remembering of brave men they should build a mound to their memorial, and after all men, who had been menfolk to some degree, they should erect bauta-stones, and this custom was followed long after. By winter-day they should make sacrifices for good year, by midwinter for growth and fertility, but by summer-day only for victory. All over Svitjod people paid tax to Odin, one penny for each nose, but he had to defend the country from strife and unorder and make sacrifices for them to a good year.” – “Odin died from disease in Svitjod, but when he was near death, he let himself mark with spearhead and stated that all men, who died from weapons, should belong to him.”

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DANES, HERULS, ANGLES,AND JUTES – CLAN CARRUTHERS CCIS

October 6, 2022 ClanCarruthers

Danes, Heruls, Angles and Jutes

Saxo Grammaticus starts “Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danica” with: “Dan and Angel, Humble’s sons, from whom the Danish originate, was our people’s founders, although the French chronicle-writer Dudo will know that the Danes descend from the Greeks or, as they are also called, the Danas, and got their name from them.”

Saxo Grammaticus by Louis Moe.

This is probably not absolutely true but shows Saxo’s purpose of his work, namely, to create a history of Denmark that could unite the nation by creating or strengthening a common Danish identity.

Jordanes wrote that Dani expelled Herulos from their settlements, which we must believe, lay in Denmark. The Heruls are mentioned by many ancient writers, but they are not found in any written sources from Scandinavia, neither at Snorre, Saxo or in other sagas, old English poems or in any other handed down histories.

It must, therefore, be assumed that they were known in Scandinavia under a different name. Nobody knows for sure, who they were, and there is ample room for guesses and speculations. But it is tempting to think that they were the direct descendants of the dominating people in the old Bronze Age culture that still held out on Sjælland and in Skåne, until they were expelled by Dani. The Danish archaeologist Johannes Brøndsted noted that Sjælland and neighboring islands are strikingly poor in finds from the oldest Iron Age, it is as if the bronze age here continued yet another time, he argued.

Dana meant River or Estuary

Many believe that “danu” is an ancient proto-Indo-European word for river.

The Romans used mostly the Greek Ister for Danube, but Tacitus wrote Danubius. Pliny wrote: “Magnum est stare in Danubii ripa” meaning: “It’s magnificent to stand on the banks of the Danube”. In English and French, the river is still called Danube.

The river Dana through Klaipeda in Lithuania. Photo curiositu.ru.

In “The saga of Hervarar and King Heidrek” the Gothic capital is called Arheimar and is located at the Danpar river that is the Dnieper, which was also called Danapris or Danaper of Greeks and Romans. Dniester was in ancient times called Danastius or Danaster.

In the description of a Sclaweni people, the Antes, who lived in southern Ukraine between the rivers Dniestr and Dniepr, Jordanes calls the two rivers respectively Danastro and Danaprum (a Danastro extenduntur usque the Danaprum).

The river Don is called Tanais, among others by Strabo, and thus it is called also in Heimskringla by Snorre. Procopius tells that the Po River in northern Italy was called either Po or Eridanos. The French river Rhone is called Rodanus by several ancient writers, for example in “Historia Langobardorum” by Paul the Deacon, where we hear about some marauding Saxons, who came to the Rodanus river.

The river that runs through Klaipeda in Lithuania is called simply Dana, and is said that there are six rivers in the UK, called Don. It is also said that on Jacob Langebek’s maps from around 1755 the river Eider is called Døne.

A relief on Trajan’s Column depicting the god Danubius watching Roman legionaries – Wikipedia.

Plinius (23-79 AC) wrote in Naturalis Historia: “There is the extremely great mountains Saevo not inferior to the high crags of Riphaeus, which make up a very large gulf called Codanus as far as to the Cimbrians’ Promontory, and it is full of islands, of which the most well known is Scandinavia, the magnitude whereof is not yet discovered.” At about the same time Pomponius Mela (died around 45 AD) wrote on Codanus Sinus and Codannovia, which was a large island in Codanus Sinus. Most assume that “sinus” means bay.

The same Pliny the Elder wrote: “Pytheas says that Gutones, a people in Germania, inhabits the banks of an estuary of the ocean called Mentonomon.” As the Goths really lived in southern Scandinavia, we must believe that he thought that the Danish straits and the Baltic Sea was a large estuary.

Pytheas says that the Gutones, a people in Germania, inhabits the banks of an estuary of the ocean called Mentonomon. Their territory extends over a distance of six thousand stadia (about 1.100 kilometers). From Wikipedia.

At first glance, we imagine that Codanus most likely was Latin, because it sounds Latin and Pliny and Mela wrote in Latin; but it is not. An online Latin-Danish dictionary gives the answer that Codan means “in Danish”, and it was probably not the intention.

It’s pretty likely that Codanus was the name of the inner Danish waters understood as a river or estuary in an original proto Indo-European language, like Eridanos, Rodanos and all the other river names that can be traced back to the term “dana” for “river” in an original language that probably was spoken from southern Russia to France and Scandinavia, most likely dating back to the Bronze Age. When Pliny and Mela wrote that the bay or estuary is called Codanus, then it was not a Latin name that they had given it, but more likely it was, what the inhabitants of the area called it themselves.

The ending -us in Codanhus is a mere gender- and casus-suffix.

It is assumed that the Indo-European languages originate from an original proto Indo-European language. From Site for Language Management in Canada.

Many believe that Lithuanian is the modern language that is most close to an original Proto-Indo-European language. Lithuanians add -as to men’s names to indicate that this person is a man, quite like the Romans added -us to men’s names, like in Julius, Crassus, Augustus and so on.

I remember a former colleague, who strived to learn Lithuanian; he thought it was not so difficult, because many words recall corresponding Danish words.

But when dana, danu, dan, danos or danus meant river, what meant then “Co-“?

We recognize co- in many modern words denoting collaboration or cooperation between several agents, for example, company, coordinate, corporation – Codanus could then have meant something like “cooperating rivers”, which is not a bad description of the three Danish straits, which spew brackish water into the Western Ocean.

A traditional interpretation of Pliny’s place names.

In the “Naturalis Historia” section on the Baltic Sea, Southern Scandinavia and the North Sea, Pliny the Elder gives additional examples of names that may have originated in an original proto Indo-European language that was spoken in these parts of the World: “The rest of these coasts are only known in detail by reports of doubtful authority. To the north is the ocean; beyond the river Parapanisus, where it washes the coast of Scythia. Hecataeus calls it the Amalchian Sea, a name that in the language of the natives means “frozen”; Philemon says that the Cimbrian name for it is Morimarusa (that is “Dead Sea”) from the Parapanisus to Cape Rusbeae, and from that point onward the Cronian Sea. Xenophon of Lampsacus reports that three days’ sail from the Scythian coast there is an island of enormous size called Balcia; Pytheas gives its name as Basilia. Also, some islands called the Oeonae are reported of which the inhabitants live on birds’ eggs and oats.” These names are not Latin names, which the Romans have given islands and seas, but names that the people of these regions used themselves. Apart from “Oeonae” which recalls the Danish “ø” meaning island, they do not remind of Gothic or Germanic names.

Saxo wrote: “Dudo will know that the Danes descend from the Greeks or, as they also are called the Danas, and got their name from them.” But Greece reminds geographically on Denmark since it consists of a peninsula and numerous islands, where in between are flowing streams of less salty water from the many rivers that flow into the Black Sea; therefore, the country’s inhabitants were in a remote antiquity also called Danas in an original Indo-European language.

Homer called the Greeks for Danaans or Danai. When the Greeks had left the walls of Troy and left behind their wooden horse, the priest Laocoon said: “I fear Dana’ans, even those who bring gifts.”

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CLAN CARRUTHERS – LANGUAGE OF THE GOTS

March 1, 2021 ClanCarruthers

LANGUAGE OF THE GOTS / GOTHS

In the Gothic Bible is a Lord’s Prayer, as we well know. No, the Gots or Goths of Gutland / Gotland are no heathen pagans. They were some of the early Christians. The Lords prayer is written in two of the Gots dialects and English.

Atta unsar þu in himinam,
Fader vor du i himlen.
Father our, you in heaven,
Weihnai namo þein.
Helligt være navnet dit.
hallowed be the name yours,
Qimai þiudinassus þeins.
(lad) Komme kongeriget dit.
(let) come kingdom yours.
Wairþai wilja þeins,
(lad) ske viljen din,
(let) be done will yours,
swe in himina jah ana airþai.
Som i himlen og på jorden.
As in heaven and on earth.
Hlaif unsarana þana sinteinan gif uns himma daga.
brød vort dette daglig giv os (i) disse dage.
bread our daily give us in these days.
Jah aflet uns þatei skulans sijaima,
og forlad os hvilken skyld vi måtte være (have).
And forgive us which guilts we may (have).
Swaswe jah weis afletam þaim skulam unsaraim.
Samt vi forlader skyldene vore.
And we forgive them that have guilts against us.
jah ni briggais uns in fraistubnjai,
og ikke bring os i fristelse,
And not bring us into temptation.
ak lausei uns af þamma ubilin.
Men løs os fra det onde.
but deliver us from evil.
Unte þeina ist þiudangardi jah mahts jah wulþus in aiwins.
thi dit er kongedømme og magt og herlighed i evighed.
For yours is kingdom and power and glory in eternity.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen

Gothic text from “Deutche Sprache gestern und heute” by Astrid Stedje.
Gothic – Danish – English

Gothic, as spoken by both the Western as the Eastern Goths was a Germanic language closely connected to modern Scandinavian, German and English. Thanks to the Gothic Wulfila Bible, which was written in Italy in the sixth century and the Fleming Busbeccq’s notes about his meeting with representatives of a small group of long-surviving Goths in the Crimea, whom he met in Constantinople in the 16. century, we have a fairly good knowledge of the Gothic language.

The Gothic Bible is a translation from Greek to Gothic of the four Gospels in the New Testament, as well as a part of Paul’s letters. It contains almost nothing of the Old Testament.

We recognize the majority of words from German and Scandinavian. Atta means father as in “æt”, the old Danish word for family or lineage. Unsar we find the German “uns” (us). þu we find in Danish and German “du” and English “you”, in similar to “in” German and English and “i” in Danish. Himian similar to “himmel” (sky) in Danish and German. In the first syllable of Weinai we recognize the German Weinacht (Christmas Eve) Namo means “name” as in English and German and “navn” in Danish. Wilja is corresponding to “vilje” in Danish, “will” in English and “wille” in German. The preposition ana is corresponding to the German “an”, which also has been used in Danish and is still in use in compound words and phrases as “anledning” (occasion), “angive” (inform) and “anliggende” (matter) as well as the English “on”. Hlaif corresponds to “leve”, an old Danish word for bread, as well as the English “loaf”. Aflet and afletam gives associations to the Danish “aflede” (divert). Gif is equivalent to “giv” in Danish, “to give” in English and “geben” in German. Himma corresponds to the old Danish “hine” (these) Daga corresponds to “dage” in Danish, “days” in English and “Tage” in German. Skulans means guilt, as a scowling (“skule” in Danish) person may look like a guilty person. Ak means “but”, indicating that a traditional Danish or German exclamation of sorry “ak-ak” or “ach-ach” originally could have ment “but-but”. Lausei corresponds to the Danish “løse”, German lösen and English “lose”. Ubilin corresponds to “Übel” (evil) in German. Mahts corresponds to “magt” in Danish, “might” in English and “Macht” in German. þiudan-gardi has two parts, the first one is something with þiu , which is “king” in Gothic, and the other has to do with -gardi , which is “gård” (farm or enclosure) in Danish, geard in Old English and “gard” in Old Saxon – here it refers to a type of category.

The Gothic Bible also includes the Christmas story from Luke ch. 2: Warþ þan in dagans jainans, urrann gagrefts fram kaisara Agustau, gameljan allana midjungard.

Literal translation: It came to pass and in days those, (that) there went out decree from Caesar Augustus (that) should be taxed all (in) the world.

Crimean- Gothic	Flemish	Danish	German	English
broe	brood	brød	brot	bread
plut	bloed	blod	blut	blood
stul	stoel	stol	stuhl	chair
hus	huys	hus	haus	house
wingart	wijgaert	vin	wein	wine
reghen	regen	regn	regen	rain
bruder	broeder	broder	bruder	brother
schwester	zuster	søster	schwester	sister
alt	oud	gammel	alt	old
vintch	wind	vind	wind	wind
silvir	zilver	sølv	silber	silver
golltz	goud	guld	gold	gold
kor	koren	korn	korn	grain
salt	zout	salt	salt	salt
fisct	visch	fisk	fisch	fish
hoef	hoofd	hoved	kopf	head
thurn	deure	dør	tür	door
stern	star	stjerne	stern	star
sune	zon	sol	sonne	sun
mine	maen	måne	mond	moon
tag	dag	dag	tag	day
oeghene	oogen	øjne	augen	eyes
bars	baert	skæg	bart	beard
handa	hand	hånd	hand	hand

Extract from the list of words that the Fleming Ogier Ghislain de Busbecq heard from two representatives of the Goths on the Crimea during a dinner in Constantinople around 1560. Krimgotisk by Poul Erik Jørgensen.

Note that the word for world, midjungard, is very similar to the Scandinavian Midgard.

There are three genders in Gothic namely masculine, feminine and neuter, as in modern German and old Danish. There are two times, past and present, as well as four kasus, namely nominative, accusative, genitive and dative and also, of course, singular and plural.

In Crimea lived Goths until about the 16. century. The Flemish Ogier Ghislain de Busbecqs, who was ambassador of the Holy Roman Empire in Constantinople 1560-62, has in his report provided us with knowledge of their language. He became aware that two representatives of the Goths on Crimea, whom he had heard of, were visiting Constantinople to present some cases for the Sultan. He managed to invite them to a dinner, during which he questioned them about their language and culture.

The definite article in Gothic was very similar to English. Busbecq told: “in front of all the words he puts tho or the”.

In Danish, we have retained the “sw” sound associated with sister in the names for the spouse family, “svoger” (brother in-law), “svigerfar” (father in-law), “svigermor” (mother in-law) and “svigerfamilie” (family in-law).

The two Gothic representatives also told Busbecq several other words that were not so similar to Flemish and German.

A page of the Wulfila Bible. It is also called “codex argenteus”, which means “Silver Bible”. It is believed that it was written for the Ostrogothic king of Italy, Theodoric the Great. Originally the Bible was translated from Greek to Gothic by Bishop Wulfila in the Balkans in the third century. It is written with the special Gothic alphabet, which was also created by Wulfila. It is called the silver bible because it is written with ink, which contains silver and gold on costly thin parchment. It was originally stored in the Benedictine monastery in Werden in Germany. It was looted by the Swedes in the Thirty Years’ War, and after a turbulent period it ended up in the University Library in Uppsala in Sweeden.

It is seen that Gothic differs from Danish and other Germanic languages by a number of words ending with -a, giving the language an exotic southern touch. The famous king of the Ostro-Goths was for example called Totilla and it sounds almost Mexican at least Spanish. It is believed that this frequent -a ending was an abbreviation, which replaced older, longer and more laborious endings. It is very imaginable that Spanish and to some extent Italian have the frequent -a endings from Gothic. Jordanes, who himself was a Goth, called occasionally the Heruls for “Erulos” which -os ending also sounds Spanish and Mediterranean, but Jordanes had never been to Spain, so it originates probably also from Gothic.

Preserving the Past, Recording the Present, Informing the Future

Ancient and Honorable Carruthers Clan Int Society

carruthersclan1@gmail.com carrothersclan@gmail.com

Dr Patricia Carrothers

Reviewed by Tammy Wise CHS

CLAN SEANACHAIDHI

CLAN CARRUTHERS INT SOCIETY CCIS HISTORIAN AND GENEALOGIST

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Gutland / Gotland, Uncategorized

CLAN CARRUTHERS – THE GOTHS

March 1, 2019March 15, 2021 ClanCarruthers

THE GOTHS

The Goths were a number of Germanic tribes in the Migration Period, which appeared in written history in the third century in the areas north of the Black Sea between the rivers Danube and Don. Except for frequent raids, they invaded the Roman Empire first time in 268 AD, and later in 376 AD. The Western Goths settled a few years in the Garonne valley in France until they conquered a kingdom, which included Spain and the South of France. In France, they were displaced by the Franks after a few years, and Spain was in 711 AD conquered by Muslim invaders – but the Goths descendants took the country back in the Middle Ages. The Eastern Goths established a thriving kingdom in Italy, but after only 67 years, they were defeated by armies sent by the emperor in Constantinople.

A map of Europe showing the Germanic kingdoms that were established after the downfall of the Western Roman Empire. After numerous battles and long migrations, the Western Goths managed to settle in Spain and the Eastern Goths to take possession of Italy. However, it did not last forever. From ancientweb.org.

An artistic reconstruction of the Western Goths in battle with Attila’s Huns at Chalons. From ancientweb.org.

When the first Goths arrived at the northern coast of the Black Sea about 170 AD, the climate was still influenced by the Roman Warm Period, which, however, ended about 400 AD. The Vandals crossed the frozen Rhine new year’s eve 406 AD, thus commencing the Migration time and heralding the downfall of the Western Roman Empire. The fact that the Rhine was frozen, testifies to a rather cold climate. I do not recall the Rhine has been frozen in modern times. From then on, until the disaster at Guadalete in Spain in 711 AD, when the Western Goths were defeated by invading Muslims, the climate was cold with snowy winters in northern and central Europe.

GOTHS ARE FROM GOTLAND

JUTLAND WAS GOTLAND

Goths can be traced further back in history to today’s northern Poland, and even in the distant past to their origins in Scandinavia and the Baltic area.

Thus Jutland through thousand years was called Gotland.

Paul the Deacon tells about how the Langobards migrated from their original island in the ocean: “Now when the people living there had multiplied to such a number that they could no longer live together, they divided, it is told, their whole people into three parts and decided by casting lots, which of those, who were to leave the homeland and seek new places of residence.” Dudo confirmed many years later that it was a traditional way of solving problems of overpopulation in Scandinavia.

Also, the Gotland Gute Saga says that some of the people were taken for emigration by casting lot: “After a long time, the people have so increased that the country was not able to feed them all. So the land was distributed, on which every third tilled, each of these was allowed to keep and bring and take away everything, which he in his life had acquired.”

Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) wrote: “Pytheas says that the Gutones, ( plural for Goths ) a people of Germania, inhabits the shores of an estuary of the Ocean called Mentonomon, their territory extending a distance of six thousand stadia; that, at one day’s sail from this territory, is the Isle of Abalus, upon the shores of which, amber is thrown up by the waves in spring, it being an excretion of the sea in a concrete form; as, also, that the inhabitants use this amber by way of fuel, and sell it to their neighbours, the Teutones.”

*** THROUGH ALL THE DNA AND GENEALOGY WE DO NOT FIND ANY EVIDENCE THAT THE GOTHS WERE GERMANIC. THE LIGHTER GREEN COLOR IS GOTLAND NO EARLIER THAN 200 AD. YOU CAN SEE HOW IT WAS JUST A SMALL TRIBUTARY THAT THEY NAVIGATED THROUGH. THE RED LINE WITH ARROW SHOWS THE NORTHERN BORDER OF GOTLAND. ***

Plinius wrote: “Pytheas says that the Gutones, a people of Germany, inhabit the shores of an estuary of the Ocean called Mentonomon, their territory extending a distance of six thousand stadia.” Other ancient writers also believed that the Baltic Sea and inner Danish waters was a major estuary.
Procopius wrote about the returning Heruls: “After these, they passed by the nations of the Dani, without suffering violence at the hands of the barbarians there. Coming thence to the ocean, they took to the sea, and putting in at Thule, remained there on the island.” – “And one of their most numerous nations is the Gauti, and it was opposite (next to?) them that the incoming Eruli settled at the time in question.” We must believe that Procopius shared the ancient authors believe that the Danish waters and the Baltic Sea was a large estuary, in which case it “opposite the Goths” can be understood: on the opposite side of the estuary. Alternatively, it should be translated “next to the Goths.” However, in both cases, suggesting that the Heruls were not Goths.

WE KNOW THAT THE HERULS WERE RELATED TO THE GOTHS, THEY WERE THE ANCIENT PREDESSESORS TO THE GOTHS. WE DO HAVE THE CARRUTHERS GENEALOGY TRACED BACK TO THE HERULS THROUGH BOTH DNA AND GENEALOGY.

There is some uncertainty about how long a stadium was, the proposals vary between 160 and 192 m. That means that the coastline, which was inhabited by Gutones, was between 960 and 1.152 km. long. That gives a range from Skagen to the Vistula estuary at Gdansk.

It suits very well with that the Jutland peninsula before the Viking Age was called Gotland, as it is the case in Ottar’s travelogue, added in Alfred the Great’s translation of Orosius’ Roman history from about 850 AC: “When he sailed there from Skíringssal (at Oslo), Denmark was on the port side and to starboard for three days was the open sea. And then, two days before he came to Hedeby, Gotland was to starboard (him wæs on þæt steorbord Gotland), and Sillende and many islands. The Angles dwelt in that area before they came here to this land.”

Since the area was inhabited by Gutones in time before Christ – according to Pytheas – and as part of it still was called Gotland 800-900 AD, it is reasonable to assume that at least the coast along Kattegat and the Baltic Sea were the Goth’s original homeland.

* DNA SHOWS THAT THERE WERE TWO LARGE ARRIVALS TO SCOTLANDS SOIL IN APPROXIMATELY 400 AD AND 850 AD. NOW THAT YOU CAN SEE THAT JUTLAND WAS GOTLAND, YOU CAN SEE HOW EASY IT WAS FOR THEM TO GO TO SCOTLAND. THEY PROBABLY WENT MANY MORE TIMES THAT JUST THE TWO. *

Ottar’s and Wulfstan’s travels according to additions in Alfred the Great’s translation of Orosius’ Roman history. Both Jutland and the island in the Baltic Sea are called Gotland. (The island of Gotland is not shown on this map).

That will indicate that Cimbri, Teutons, Angles and all other tribes, who lived along this coastline, and whose names we are not sure about, all originally have thought of themselves as kinds of Goths speaking the same language, namely Gothic.

Some believe that the Gutones on the densely populated Jutland east coast very early crossed the Kattegat and gradually populated West and East Gøta Land – and from there the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea, which is what we see today.

In Alfred the Great’s translation of Orosius’ Roman history is also added Wulfstan’s travel report from a voyage from Hedeby to Truso in Vistula’s delta from about 850 AC, which reads: “Wulfstan said that he traveled from Hedeby, and that he was in Truso in seven days and nights, and that the ship all the way went under sail. Wendland was on his starboard side and to port, he had Langeland, Lolland, Falster and Scania. These countries all belong to Denmark. So we had Bornholm to port, and they have their own king. So after Bornholm we had the countries named first Blekinge, More, Oland and Gotland to port (and Gotland on bæcbord), and these countries belong to the Swedes. And we had Wendland to starboard all the way to the Vistula river mouth.” By Gotland is here obviously meant the island of Gotland or maybe the coast of Eastern Gøtaland.

Gothic cross found in Spain perhaps from 700’s.

Ptolemy placed the people Goutai on the island of Skandia and the Gudones by the Vistula river.

The Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus described the location of the Gotones as: “Beyond the Lugii is the monarchy of the Gotones: The hand upon the reins closes somewhat tighter here than among the other tribes of Germans, but not so tight yet as to destroy freedom. Then immediately following them and on the ocean are the Rugii and Lemovii. The distinguishing features of all these tribes are round shields, short swords, and a submissive bearing before their kings.” This means that Gotones, who was ruled by powerful kings, lived north or northeast of the Lugii and further inland than the Rugii and Lemovii, which he explicitly stated as residing at the sea. Perhaps Gotones lived at the Vistula river.

Jordanes located the peoples Ostro-Goths, Ewa-Greutingis and Gaiti-Goths on the island of Scandia. Gauti-Goths were “a race of men bold and quick to fight”, he wrote, and further, “But still another race dwells there, the Sweans, who like the Thuringos, having splendid horses.” With the term “another race” he must have meant that they were not Goths. “All these nation surpassed the Germans in size and spirit, and fought with the cruelty of wild beasts”, he concluded the description of the peoples on the Scandinavian peninsula.

Right and left side of a lance head with runic inscription found near Kovel in the Northwest corner of Ukraine. The runic inscription to be read from right to left “Tilarids”. It has been identified as likely East Germanic, most likely Gothic because of the nominative s-suffix. It is from the beginning of the third century. From Wikipedia.

He mentions different tribes of Goths, who lived on the island of Skandia, including Greutingis and Ostro-Goths, which names we later recognize for Gothic peoples on the Danube and in Italy. This makes it likely that it is true that the Goths, who attacked the Roman Empire, originally came from Scandinavia and the coasts of the Baltic Sea. Furthermore, there are several areas of southern Scandinavia, which have been called, or still are named as Gotland with different spellings, which also support the theory that this region was the original homeland of the Goths. In his report on the Gothic war in Italy, Procopius mentions the Rugi, as part of the Goths in Italy; they are also referred to by Jordanes as one of Skandia’s indigenous tribes. They are also mentioned in other ancient sources.

Pollen analysis from Abkjær Mose at Vojens. It appears that forest, especially beech and ash, increases sharply and herbs typical of open land, grass and heather decrease immediately after the migration time around 500 AD indicating that the forest returned to areas that previously were pastures for cattle. Similar studies in other parts of the country show the same pattern. It is reasonable to interpret that this could be due to emigration.
Also, Procopius reports on the returning Heruls suggests that Scandinavia was quite thinly populated. For how could they just “settle down”, as if they came to an untouched prairie? If not the country had been relatively sparsely populated.
However, when large parts of the original population had turned their back to good pastures, it may not only have been hunger and misery that drove them to emigrate.
It is known that for several hundred years of the late Imperial time the Roman legions were mostly populated with various Germanic soldiers since the Roman Empire’s own citizens did not seem to have been suitable. You could say that every Roman legion was a sort of Foreign Legion, in which also many young men from the South Scandinavian region must have served. Therefore the tribes around the Baltic Sea may have concluded that they were the best and the bravest – and therefore deserved to rule. Such attitudes among the Germanic tribes were most likely critical to the doom of the Western Roman Empire.

All these ancient authors wrote before official correct spelling was invented; they wrote in different languages with different alphabets and over a period of several hundred years. They reproduced words for Goths that often for them were in an unfamiliar language, besides most likely Gothic by this time had already developed in several dialects. It is quite understandable that they spelled it in so many different ways, and we do not have to connect any deeper meaning in the different spellings.

Like other Germanic peoples the Goths lived spread out over farmland in small villages with each may be about 8-10 houses and farms.

In Book III of Justinian’s wars, Procopius wrote about the Goths’ early history: “Now while Honorius was holding the imperial power in the West, barbarians took possession of his land; and I shall tell, who they were and in what manner, they did so. There were many Gothic nations in earlier times, just as also at the present, but the greatest and most important of all are the Goths, Vandals, Visigoths, and Gepaedes. In ancient times, however, they were named Sauromatae and Melanchlaeni; and there were some too, who called these nations Getic. All these, while they are distinguished from one another by their names, as has been said, do not differ in anything else at all. For they all have white bodies and fair hair and are tall and handsome to look upon, and they use the same laws and practice a common religion. For they are all of the Arian faith (Christians ) , and have one language called Gothic; and, as it seems to me, they all came originally from one tribe, and were distinguished later by the names of those who led each group.”

Procopius is undoubtedly correct that most Germanic migrations peoples were a kind of Goths; they resembled each other and spoke largely the same language. But then they must originally have come from the same tribe, as he wrote. That is, we must believe that they all came more or less directly from the original Gothic area along the Baltic Sea, the Danish waters and from the southern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Procopius believed that also the Vandals and Gepids were kinds of Goths, although they were not generally named as such.

Moreover, in Denmark are clear indications of a big drop in population density in Germanic Iron Age relative to the Roman Iron Age, which indicates a considerable migration.

* TORE GANNAHORN HAS DONE SOME EXTENSIVE RESEARCH INTO GOTLAND. ONE BASIC ITEM HE FOUND OUT FOR US WAS THE GOTHS THAT TRAVELED TO THE EAST OF GOTLAND, TRAVELED DOWN THE RIVERS TO WHAT IS TODAY UKRAINE, THROUGH ROMANIA AND SUCH. MANY ARE FINDING A DNA LINK TO ROMANIA, AND THIS IS WHY. THE GOTHS THAT TRAVELED WEST, WERE THE ONES WHO WENT TO IRELAND , SCOTLAND, WALES AND BRITTAN. *

Preserving the Past, Recording the Present, Informing the Future

Ancient and Honorable Carruthers Clan Int Society

carruthersclan1@gmail.com carrothersclan@gmail.com

Dr Patricia Carrothers

Reviewed by Tammy Wise CHS

CLAN SEANACHAIDHI

CLAN CARRUTHERS INT SOCIETY CCIS HISTORIAN AND GENEALOGIST

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Dani, Switheudi, Thuringi and Aesirs

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Danes, Heruls, Angles and Jutes

Dana meant River or Estuary

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LANGUAGE OF THE GOTS / GOTHS

In the Gothic Bible is a Lord’s Prayer, as we well know. No, the Gots or Goths of Gutland / Gotland are no heathen pagans. They were some of the early Christians. The Lords prayer is written in two of the Gots dialects and English.

Gothic text from “Deutche Sprache gestern und heute” by Astrid Stedje. Gothic – Danish – English

Extract from the list of words that the Fleming Ogier Ghislain de Busbecq heard from two representatives of the Goths on the Crimea during a dinner in Constantinople around 1560. Krimgotisk by Poul Erik Jørgensen.

Preserving the Past, Recording the Present, Informing the Future

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THE GOTHS

GOTHS ARE FROM GOTLAND

JUTLAND WAS GOTLAND

Goths can be traced further back in history to today’s northern Poland, and even in the distant past to their origins in Scandinavia and the Baltic area.

Thus Jutland through thousand years was called Gotland.

** WE KNOW THAT THE HERULS WERE RELATED TO THE GOTHS, THEY WERE THE ANCIENT PREDESSESORS TO THE GOTHS. WE DO HAVE THE CARRUTHERS GENEALOGY TRACED BACK TO THE HERULS THROUGH BOTH DNA AND GENEALOGY. **

There is some uncertainty about how long a stadium was, the proposals vary between 160 and 192 m. That means that the coastline, which was inhabited by Gutones, was between 960 and 1.152 km. long. That gives a range from Skagen to the Vistula estuary at Gdansk.

Since the area was inhabited by Gutones in time before Christ – according to Pytheas – and as part of it still was called Gotland 800-900 AD, it is reasonable to assume that at least the coast along Kattegat and the Baltic Sea were the Goth’s original homeland.

*** DNA SHOWS THAT THERE WERE TWO LARGE ARRIVALS TO SCOTLANDS SOIL IN APPROXIMATELY 400 AD AND 850 AD. NOW THAT YOU CAN SEE THAT JUTLAND WAS GOTLAND, YOU CAN SEE HOW EASY IT WAS FOR THEM TO GO TO SCOTLAND. THEY PROBABLY WENT MANY MORE TIMES THAT JUST THE TWO. ***

Ottar’s and Wulfstan’s travels according to additions in Alfred the Great’s translation of Orosius’ Roman history. Both Jutland and the island in the Baltic Sea are called Gotland. (The island of Gotland is not shown on this map).

That will indicate that Cimbri, Teutons, Angles and all other tribes, who lived along this coastline, and whose names we are not sure about, all originally have thought of themselves as kinds of Goths speaking the same language, namely Gothic.

Some believe that the Gutones on the densely populated Jutland east coast very early crossed the Kattegat and gradually populated West and East Gøta Land – and from there the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea, which is what we see today.

Gothic cross found in Spain perhaps from 700’s.

Ptolemy placed the people Goutai on the island of Skandia and the Gudones by the Vistula river.

Like other Germanic peoples the Goths lived spread out over farmland in small villages with each may be about 8-10 houses and farms.

Moreover, in Denmark are clear indications of a big drop in population density in Germanic Iron Age relative to the Roman Iron Age, which indicates a considerable migration.

Preserving the Past, Recording the Present, Informing the Future

Ancient and Honorable Carruthers Clan Int Society

carruthersclan1@gmail.com carrothersclan@gmail.com

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Gothic text from “Deutche Sprache gestern und heute” by Astrid Stedje.
Gothic – Danish – English

WE KNOW THAT THE HERULS WERE RELATED TO THE GOTHS, THEY WERE THE ANCIENT PREDESSESORS TO THE GOTHS. WE DO HAVE THE CARRUTHERS GENEALOGY TRACED BACK TO THE HERULS THROUGH BOTH DNA AND GENEALOGY.

* DNA SHOWS THAT THERE WERE TWO LARGE ARRIVALS TO SCOTLANDS SOIL IN APPROXIMATELY 400 AD AND 850 AD. NOW THAT YOU CAN SEE THAT JUTLAND WAS GOTLAND, YOU CAN SEE HOW EASY IT WAS FOR THEM TO GO TO SCOTLAND. THEY PROBABLY WENT MANY MORE TIMES THAT JUST THE TWO. *